Hanger for trolley rails



Dec. 11, 1951 I B. B. MCCARN HANGERS FOR TROLLEY RAILS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Oct. 19, 1944 u EH5 27V FIG. 6

M We INVENTOR.

B. B. M CARN 2,577,789

HANGERS FOR TROLLEY RAILS Dec. 11, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Oct. 19, 1944 W401i; W INVENTOR.

' rated in the hanger.

Patented Dec. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT oFrlcs Burtis B. McCarn, Jersey City, N. J.

Application October 19, 1944, Serial No. 559,340

. supports.

. An object of the invention is to provide ,a hanger that may be manufactured by quantity production methods for stock, such that itis adaptable for a wide variety of uses with the standardized trolley rail for which the hanger is made. Another'object is to provide a hanger of greater strength than those in general use,

particularly of greater strength to resist the side thrust due to moving loads or ofi-side hoisting.

Another object is to provide a hanger especially useful for resisting stresses due to a tractor drive applied to the trolley rail, while at the same time providing simple means to support electrical conductors for the said tractor drive and for hoisting. I

, Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part hereinafter indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of the invention. g In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isan elevation of one hanger according to the invention in the position of use between a particular trolley rail of common type and a twochannel superstructure of common type.

-Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 2--2 of Fig.1. I i

Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig.'2, in which the superstructure consists of two structural channels attached together so as to form a T section. "Fig. 41s a section similar to Fig. 2, in which the superstructure is an I beam.

Fig. 5 is an elevation like Fig. 1 exceptthat provision for'the support of insulators that may carry electrical conductors, has been incorpo- Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagram showing the profile of the shallow thread for a jam nut of Figs. 1, 2 and 5, compared with the profile of a fully formed thread for a standard nut.

. Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B taken together showv an enlarged section taken through the center line of one arm l2 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the other arm l2, and using the same numerals used in Fig. 1, except that an extra washer I] is shown between the channels 20, 20 and the nut mltted g om on'p v l9. The said extra washermay be used or V 7 Claims. (Cl. 104-411) Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views, I 0 indicates generally a hanger accordingto the invention. Figs. 1 and 2 show hanger In as used with a particular standardized hard steel rail, the cross section of which com prises two equal parts 2|, 2! clamped to the hanger per common practice, and as used with a common double channel superstructure made of channels 20, 20. Hanger In is formed to have a body portion II and two arms l2, l2 perpendicular to it. For use with the rail sections 2|, 2| the body portion II will have a shear lug l3 on each side. as commonly designed for hangers to fit such rail sections. For use with any other kind of standardized monorail, the body portion will have means for attachment to the said monorail as commonly designed for hangers to fit such a monorail. As an old element in my combination, I claim any common or known means for attachment to a standardized hard steel rail, of

the hanger. Each arm I2 has at its free end a standard screw thread l5.

lock purposes, upon the principle of jamming or wedgingthe thread of the nut against the coacting thread of the screw. The threads described are such that the jam nut will turn past thread I 5 and into its position of use.

. The. combination. of a rod with two kinds of thread related as described above and with two kinds of nuts as described above, is claimed in my copending application, Serial Number 702,771, filed October 11, 1946, for an Improvement in Adjustable'Clamping and Looking Means.

. The hanger. ill is preferably made from a length of round rolled steel bar, the mid section of which is heated for bending and forging to form the body portion H, and while in the heated condition, ,it may be compressed longitudinally to upset the bar to provide s'ufiicient metal for the ample height and width indicated for I] (Fig. 1),

'the'said width being such that the body portion had fully formed threads 3 at l8, l8 and if it were cut through the body portion I I to make two equal'halves, one of the halves would be similar to a common single shank hanger of the prior art and would employ a minimum of material for the use shown. However, for a general purpose hanger to be carried in stock, it is desirable to have a greater length for the shear bars l3, l3. The U shaped hanger of Fig. 1 can be formed very economically from a single length of rolled steel rod by common means, to provide ample length for the shear lugs.

After being so made, the U shaped hanger is found to possess a distinct advantage over common single-shank hangers made from the same size of rod. It has been found from the use of various common forms of hangers that the hangers partially integrate the rail with the superstructure due to clamping efiects as from the superstructure channels clamped against hangers, hangers clamped to superstructure and rail sections clamped to hangers. This-is advantageous for reducing deflection at the rail, but it subjects the hangers to additional stresses so as to require strongerbars or hangers. The hangers tend to bend just below the superstructure, in a direction lengthwise of the rail. To resistdeflection at the rail the U shaped hanger of Fig. 1 with shanks spaced apart five diameters of the rod has a section modulus just below the superstructure, thirty three and two thirds times the section modulus of a single-shank hanger made from the same size of rod, the greater strength being secured generally without the use of any more metal. 'sition where it tends to fail laterally in addition to longitudinally, it will not be so much stronger than a single-shank hanger made from the same size of rod, but it will always be at least twice as strong. Fig. 3 shows hanger 22 like It] except that the two arms 23 have no partially formed thread and are provided with standard jam nuts 24. The

superstructure consists of two channels 25 and 26 set to form a T section. The plurality of Fig. 4 shows a hanger 21 which may be the same as hanger 22 except that the two arms 23,

23 are bent or sprung to attach to an I beam 28 i punched on standard gauge lines. An I beam is a common form of superstructure, so it is desir- If the U shaped hanger is in a poable that a hanger of general utility be adaptable for use with it.

Fig. 5 shows a hanger 29 like l0 except that a car or plate 39 is welded in position between the arms l2, 12. Plate 30 has a hole 3| for attachment of supporting insulators for electrical conductors and is attached to the arms by fillet welds 32, 32. Plate 30 increases the strength of the hanger in a direction lengthwise of the rail. Single-shank hangers have been found unsatisfactory for the support of such insulators when a traction drive is used against the rail because the resulting stresses spring the hangers and crack the insulators, and various supplementary devices have been used to prevent this. It is obvious that hanger 29 will resist such springing without the use of any extra material. The use of a punched plate for supporting'insulators, in

formed thread 18 compared with a profile 15 for arully formedthread IE to show how thread [8- 4 may provide a rounded form at the root and also leave a greater sectional area of rod at root of thread, each feature providing a stronger hanger at the critical section just below the jam nut, as compared with corresponding features of a fully formed thread. The partially formed thread can be made more economically than a fully formed thread.

. The combination of a portion of a rod, a screw thread having the profile of the shallow thread with a rounded form at the root as shown in Fig. 6, and a nut to fit the screw thread, is claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 170,221, filed June 24, 1950, for an improvement in Threaded Fastenings.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1.; A hanger for a standardized trolley rail having twocontinuous shear lugs as elements of the rail head, comprising: a body portion having two shear lugs of length substantially equal to the length of the hanger, the said length being measured along the rail as the hanger is in its position of use; two arms perpendicular to the body portion, spaced apart and integrally joined by the body portion, each arm extending upward from the body portion and having at its free extremity a thread of length greater than the thickness of a standard nut for the said thread, and continuing therefrom an additional amount of thread of length greater than the thickness of a jam nut therefor; two standard nuts tapped to fit the two arms respectively, and two jam nuts tapped to fit the two arms respectively; and a rectangular plate having provision for attachment of electrical conductors, the two ends of the plate being welded to the two arms respectively above the junction of the arm with the body portion of the hanger and below the threaded portion of the arm.

2. A hanger for adjustably suspending a trolley rail from a supporting structure andfor supporting. and maintaining the said rail in its suspended position, comprising: a unitary structure consisting of a body portion having means for ready attachment to and for the support of said rail, and additionally consisting of two elongated upstanding arms integrally formed at their lower ends with thev said body portion and spaced from each other longitudinally of the main body portion and of said rail, with said arms of such length as to space the body portion of the hanger and the trolley rail a substantial distance below the supporting structure; and clamping means at the. end of each arm, each of the said clamping means consisting of a threaded fastening having at least one nut suitable for use as a load-bearing nut and at least one nut suitable for use as a jam nut.

3. A hanger according to claim 2, characterized V by the further facts that the said body portion ardized trolley rail having two continuous shear lugs as elements of the rail head, comprising: a unitary'structure consisting of a body portion having two shear lugs extending longitudinally across the two sides respectively thereof and adapted to engage the continuous shear lugs of the rail head, and additionally consisting of two elongated upstanding arms perpendicular to the said two shear lugs, integrally formed at their lower ends with the said body portion and spaced from each other longitudinally of the main body portion and of said rail, with said arms of such length as to space the body portion of the hanger and the trolley rail a substantial distance below the supporting structure; and clamping means at the end of each arm, each of the said clamping means consisting of a threaded fastening having at least one nut suitable for use as a load-bearing nut and at least one nut suitable for use as a jam nut.

5. A hanger according to claim 4, characterized by the further facts that the said body portion has a length greater than its depth, and that each of the said arms has a diameter substantially equal to one-fifth of the distance that the arms are spaced from each other.

6. A hanger for adjustably suspending a trolley rail from a supporting structure and for supporting and maintaining the said rail in its suspended position, comprising: a unitary structure having two elongated upstanding arms integrally fastened together at their lower ends and spaced from each other longitudinally of the rail, said arms being of such length as to space the trolley rail a substantial distance below the supporting structure, and clamping means at the free end of each arm, each of the said clamping means consisting of a threaded fastening having at least one nut suitable for use as a loadbearing nut and at least one nut suitable for use 4 as a jam nut.

7. A hanger according to claim 2, characterized by the further facts that the said hanger also includes a rectangular plate having provision for the attachment of electrical conductorsthereto, the two ends of the plate being welded to the two arms respectively of the unitarystructure, above the body portion of the unitary structure and below the clamping meansof each arm.

BURTIS B. MCCARN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 118,685 Bunnell Sept. 5, 1871 410,120 Simpson Aug. 27, 1889 419,739 Valley Jan. 21, 1890 537,699 Mills Apr. 16, 1895 593,505 Zern Nov. 9, 1897 776,535 McIlvaine Dec. 6, 1904 897,388 Neller Sept. 1, 1908 1,064,546 Ryan June 10, 1913 1,064,934 Ryan June 17, 1913 1,226,603 Sheldrup May 15, 1917 1,422,473 Phillips July 11, 1922 1,592,814 Harris July 13, 1926 1,599,270 Axelson Sept. 7, 1926 1,643,749 Northmore Sept. 27, 1927 1,655,123 Badger Jan. 3, 1928 1,750,769 Austin Mar. 18, 1930 1,876,796 Trbojevich Sept. 13, 1932 2,093,026 Bernhard Sept. 14, 1937 2,141,576 Warr et a1. Dec. 27, 1938 2,152,681 Caminez Apr. 4, 1939 2,331,860 Stevens Oct. 12, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 3,211 Great Britain 1871 585,845 France Mar. 7, 1925 

